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Nikolai sneers. “That’s your problem. You walked a little too far the other night, and now you are here.”
“Please. I’ll be good.”
“You are being good right where you are, little doll, don’t worry.”
I narrow my eyes and stand, going to the edge of the cage. I peer at him from between the bars, gold lines slicing through and blurring his image. He is relaxed, obviously assuming that I will be no issue.
“You can set a timer. Fifteen minutes. That’s all I need.”
“No.”
“You know that I won’t always be in here, right? Ivan is upset with me now, but one day, I will be back in his good graces. As much as I am his prisoner, he is mine. Eventually, I will have his ear.”
He smiles. I can see bits of chewing tobacco on his yellowing teeth.
“Aren’t you a pretty one to be making such threats?”
I let my lips curl without mirth. “I promise that any command I give will be given with a smile and wrapped in silk. You have a choice right now. Let me owe you a favor, or let me owe you revenge.”
Nikolai considers it for a moment and then shrugs. “You will owe me a favor?”
“Yes.”
“Deal.”
To my amazement, Nikolai reaches into his jacket and pulls out a key. It isn’t golden like Ivan’s but made of shiny silver—a copy.
He steps aside as I walk out of the cage. Aside from bathing, using the bathroom, and pleasuring Ivan when he demands it, it’s the first time I’ve been on the other side of these bars in days.
For a moment, I don’t know quite what to do with my newfound freedom. Then, an idea hits me.
“I would like to see my brother.”
Nikolai doesn’t argue. Instead, he unlocks the bedroom door and lets me lead the way. Surely, this has increased the weight of whatever favor I’ll owe him in the future, but for now, my pace quickens in my haste to reach Angel.
Everyone I pass, staff or mafia, stares in disbelief as I make my way down the hallway, down the stairs, and into the sitting room that faces the east.
The room where, just a matter of days past, a man died because he tried to help me.
I push the thought away, down to where I don’t have to think about it right now, and focus on the man in the cage before me.
Angel is wearing different clothing than before; I see at a glance. At least he is being offered the opportunity to keep himself clean.
He doesn’t raise his head at the sound of the doors opening. Instead, he is seated in the corner of his cage with his arm casually draped over one bent knee. Even at a distance, I can see the new bruises on him.
When I pause outside of his cage, Angel finally looks up. Surprise lights his eyes as they meet mine.
I swallow. “I would like a moment alone with him.”
“That is asking a lot,” Nikolai says.
I don’t turn from Angel. “Only a moment.”
“You recently tried to escape; I am not leaving you alone.”
Now I look at him, this lapdog so intent on establishing his authority over me. I know his kind. So determined to rise. So determined to prove himself to the Don. I keep my voice steady when I reply. “Yes. I had the opportunity to run back to my old life, and I chose my husband and my new life.”
“No dice.”
